Teach Outdoors

Welcome to the latest episode of our podcast where we feature inspiring stories of educators who are passionate about taking learning beyond the four walls of the classroom. In today’s episode we have a special guest with us, James Matthews, is the Head of Environmental Studies at BHCS in Melbourne Australia and teaches both in Primary and Middle School. He is passionate about bush regeneration an...

Today’s episode is all about overcoming springtime challenges, especially when it comes to allergen season. I don’t know about you, but my eyes are watery and itchy, even my ears are itchy! That doesn’t stop us from getting outside to explore, we just need a few extra tips up our sleeves. If you have any additional tips you'd like to share with us, please feel free to leave a voice message on...

Our school recently installed 6 garden beds! How amazing and terrifying all at the same time :) I have never been shy to speak about what I struggle with and I hope this helps other educators and families see that it's ok to be nervous about gardening. The challenges are going to be worth the experience that both educators and students will get! From limited resources, to lack expertise, I am...

Welcome to the first episode of Season 2! What used to be called Mentoring Nature Connections is now called Teach Outdoors . Thank you to everyone who completed the survey on how I can best tailor this podcast to your needs. I'm excited to continue along this journey with you! Today I give a quick little introduction on who I am, as there are many new followers here with us! I grew up in Brit...

When it comes to teaching students outdoors, there are few activities more meaningful than noticing and observing clouds. Often dismissed as mundane, clouds are surprisingly complex and stimulate creative thinking, real-time problem solving, self-reflection and environmental stewardship n children. Studying clouds can ignite passion and creativity, while teaching students a variety of skills. Clou...

My class of grade 1 and 2 learners have continued our routine of being outdoors every day, ranging from 30 minutes up to almost 2 hours.  The last few weeks we have been noticing how many different types of trees we have on our school grounds - too many to choose from! Listen to today's episode for how we began learning about the western red cedar and how we will continue to use that knowledg...

We are having unusually warm weather for October here in British Columbia.  We are taking advantage of the sunshine by going out on daily nature walks to explore the different spaces on our school grounds. We are learning about our local birds and keeping a monthly bird count. We are talking about the impacts humans have on nature and reminding ourselves how our smallest actions have both positive...

Today’s episode is going to be about starting the school year with outdoor learning routines. I am going to share with you how the last week has gone, what we’ve discovered, what our challenges have been and what we’re looking forward to exploring with next week.   What are the expectations when we go on a nature walk? We stay together as a group, we don’t pick living things just for the sake of i...

Today’s episode is all about outdoor play, both the possibilities and the challenges.  To help us dig into this topic, we have Claudine Mossberg with us.  She offers 1:1 coaching to Design Your Time Outdoors the way it works for you, and Group coaching to Build Your Outdoor Community for outdoor play, co-op or forest school style learning for all ages.   Some of the highlights of today's epis...

Our guest is Dr. Beverlie Dietze who is the Director of Learning and Applied Research at Okanagan College. She is a lead researcher on two national outdoor pedagogy projects.  She is the author or co-author of seven textbooks, many peer reviewed articles, and publisher of Play Outdoors Magazine.  https://playoutdoorsmagazine.ca.  Dr. Beverlie believes it begins with the mindset of the educator. Le...

Today's episode is about the evolution of confidence in our learners as they explore the outdoors.  Logan Enns and Aura Garzon are the founders of the Kollektive which is an outdoor program that provides children with opportunities for discovery and exploration. Above all else, they believe in the magical power of the outdoors! www.thekollektive.ca We begin our conversation by talking about h...

Hi everyone, welcome back to mentoring nature connections. 2022 hasn’t exactly been the start of the school year that we were all hoping for. I’m hoping that everyone is staying healthy and safe and I’m hopeful that we’ll make it through to the other side. Thank you to everyone who has reached out about my first book Me and My Sit Spot. It is available on amazon and other online platforms. If you...

Today’s topic is about sustainability and well-being (such an important topic this time of year when the days are dark and short). It’s so important to consider what steps we can take to support our mental health.  For many of us, this is going to include spending time with our family, friends, and being outside. That’s one of the reasons why today I have my infant daughter, Evelyn, sitting on my...

Our guest today is Dr. Gillian Judson, assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University.  She has a passion for looking at imagination’s role in leadership and learning. We discuss what the walking curriculum is and how we can incorporate cognitive tools to help us imaginatively and emotionally engage our learners.  Gillian shares some examples of her inquiry questions an...

Have you ever wondered what the benefits are to using natural dyes? Today's episode will help you dip into some colourful lessons and hands-on activities with your learners.  Our guest, Sarah Graham, guides us through the process of natural plant dyeing and tackles questions like: How does the process work from start to finish? What is your favourite plant to make a natural dye? Which plants...

Alana Tesan is our amazing guest tonight!  She is a Kindergarten teacher in the Delta District, BC, Canada Twitter: @AlanaTesan  www.mentoringnatureconnections.ca   Alana believes that children are natural storytellers. You can find her interview excerpt in the Story Workshop: New Possibilities for Young Writers book by Susan Harris McKay.  Story Workshop is a way for learners to explore their ima...

Have you ever wondered how to spend an entire day outdoors with your learners? How do you structure your time? What games do you play? What "lessons" can we explore? To help us dig into these questions, we invited Manon McPeters (from Wilderness Awareness School) back for Part 2!  Her passion and creativity for playing, learning and teaching outdoors is palpable! You'll appreciate h...

Megan Zeni is a Master Gardener, PhD student and school garden expert who works for the Richmond School District.  In today's episode, she shares with us some of her best secrets and tips on how to set up core routines with her learners at the beginning of the year (such as the Waiting Tree, to help with exit and entry transitions!).  Megan is a strong advocate for outdoor learning because it...

The start of the year is the perfect time to have this collaborative discussion. How to create outdoor learning bins? How do they support both structured lessons and emergent learning at the same time? What could we include in the bins?  Sinead Joy and Erin Reid are with us today to talk about their experiences in creating and using outdoor learning bins with a mathematical focus. Their school, wi...

Today we have two guests with us today to talk about how this past school year went, what did they learn, and what are the goals that we are looking forward to tackling next year.    Carly Eirikson is a VP at Ecole Herbert Spencer Elementary, In New Westminster, she has her Masters of Education in Special Education and spent 4 years of her career as an educational consultant for POPARD supporting...

Today’s episode is about how to utilize the outdoor learning spaces on your schoolgrounds in relation to our BC curriculum.  We will also discuss how school districts can support and encourage the adoption of outdoor learning routines.  To help guide our conversation we have two educators from East Kensington Outdoor Learning School or EKOlogy which is a K-5 school in the Surrey District.  Twitter...

Kate Dawson and Emily Vera are the founders of Terra Nova Nature School.  Twitter: @tnnatureschool  Terra Nova Website: https://terranovanatureschool.com/programs/preschool/ In this episode, Kate and Emily talk about the intricacies of place-based work and how that plays into their curriculum planning in their outdoor school.  They also talk about the delicate balance between planning your lessons...

Our guest tonight is Katherine Porter  (@Katporter04) who is a K/1 teacher in the Richmond School District. She is a Reggio-inspired teacher who is passionate about play-based learning. Katherine also loves spending time exploring and learning outdoors. This love for nature has inspired her to take her teaching outside whenever possible. Katherine is excited to continue learning alongside her stud...

Our guest today is Jenna Rudolph who is the founder of Soaring Eagle Nature School .  www.soaringeaglenatureschool.org   Today’s episode is sponsored by Wilderness Awareness School.  They are committed to helping children and adults establish healthy relationships with nature, community, and self. They offer a variety of programs in the foothills of the Cascades, outside of Seattle. Their 9-month...

Kelly Shuto is a K/1 teacher in the Surrey district as well as a k-2 math mentor. She has contributed to our BC curriculum resource site by sharing her in-depth documentation and examples of how the core competencies live in our classrooms. She is also a children’s book author! Her first book, one of my toddler’s favourites, is titled What Does it Mean to be Brave.  You will often find her present...